"I Won"

by Josh Orton, Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 09:49:13 AM EST

For Friday afternoon enjoyment:

President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.

The exchange arose as top House and Senate Republicans expressed concern to the president about the amount of spending in the package. They also raised red flags about a refundable tax credit that returns money to those who don't pay income taxes, the sources said.
...
After Friday's meeting, Democratic and Republican leaders publicly wrangled over the developing stimulus plan.

But perhaps taking a cue from Obama's "I won" line when Democrats were asked if they were concerned about Republicans blocking the package, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had a swift one-word answer: "No."

Tags: Barack Obama (all tags)

Comments

28 Comments

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Re: "I Won"

I admit, it has been kind of amusing watching people like John McCain go around saying that while they hope Obama does well, they wouldn't have done this, that, or the other thing that Obama did.  Well of course you wouldn't have!  Dick Cheney wouldn't have either!

by Steve M 2009-01-23 09:51AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

One can only hope that Obama has brains to not appoint any more Senators to his cabinet. The three replacements are disasters and one or two of those seats would be lost in 2010. The appointment of Gillibrand who is out of touch with the majority of New York voters is a joke. Obama might have won but if he is foolish enough to appoint more of the current Senators to his cabinet, the Dems could end up loosing the Senate in 2010..right now it is a long-shot but three or four more Senators in the cabinet would do it. Gillibrand is not likely to support Obama in a number of issues, Bennett is fast becoming a laughing stock, and Burris is under the Blagojevich cloud. He might have won but he needs to be careful with his appointments..otherwise his victory would be fleeting, not because the people have rejected him but because of dumb or crooked Democratic governors.

by Boilermaker 2009-01-23 10:20AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

How many vacant cabinet posts are there at this point?!

by Steve M 2009-01-23 10:46AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

Dont know. But, all appointees have not been confirmed.

by Boilermaker 2009-01-23 02:49PM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

When you say she out of touch with most New Yorkers, may I ask you does she reflect the district she has been representing? I understand that is a more conservative district than New York City.

by del 2009-01-23 03:20PM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

Okay, Obama needs to wear black sunglasses to these meetings because he is so damn cool.  After "Hail to the Chief," they need to play the theme from Shaft.

That "I won" is up there with Han Solo's "I know."

by TheUnknown285 2009-01-23 09:59AM | 0 recs
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Um....

....I don't think Obama or his family would appreciate that. I understand your sentiment, but it is a blaxploitation film.

by iohs2008 2009-01-23 11:02AM | 0 recs
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Re: Um....

Shaft is not in the same category as Superfly.

by Pravin 2009-01-23 02:43PM | 0 recs
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Superfly has a great soundtrack....

And directed by Gordon Parks Jr, son of the director of Shaft...

Gotta say, I like em both.

Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack for SuperFly is a classic...

by WashStateBlue 2009-01-23 05:00PM | 0 recs
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Re: Superfly has a great soundtrack....

I never said Superfly wasn't fun to watch. Great score too.

by Pravin 2009-01-24 09:39PM | 0 recs
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True enough

and even Superfly had at least a superficial message. Not to mention the awesome soundtrack, that sort of legitimized the movie ("Fred is dead, that's what I said..")

Now, Blackcula...WTF

by Neef 2009-01-23 08:56PM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

yes we won. so no please add more to the stimulus like for rail etc.. and neough tax cuts. baucus wnts the business cuts back in. oy

by art3 2009-01-23 10:16AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

Ha ha. That's a Samuel Jackson level cool statement. Maybe Obama should take a baseball bat ala Principal Joe Clark (Lean on ME) style and threaten the senators of both parties to fall in line with change.

by Pravin 2009-01-23 10:19AM | 0 recs
Eatapeach
amazingly...

barack is acting like barack.  anyone who's known him would have expected this.  he'll listen to his opponents, he'll give people plenty of rope, but in the end, he'll decide.

welcome to the new politics, people.  i understand it will be a difficult adjustment for many of us...

by bored now 2009-01-23 10:30AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

OMG.   I can only hope he really didn't say that.

I mean childish bs like that would only come back to bite when he needs some votes down the line.

by RichardFlatts 2009-01-23 10:31AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

It's not childish at all; it's an assertion of fact.  Elections have consequences and articulating a willingness to listen to the other side does not obligate the winner to adopt the loser's ideas.  That's what this statement means.  

by HSTruman 2009-01-23 10:45AM | 0 recs
The mollusk bathing
Re: "I Won"

That was my thought too.  Win graciously.  That's what Barack does best.

by the mollusk 2009-01-23 12:57PM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

It's about time Barack showed them who the man was. Republicans do not reward weakness. What killed Bush was not his arrogance but his stupidity.

by Pravin 2009-01-23 02:37PM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

"What killed Bush was not his arrogance but his stupidity."

Fine distinction. I'll add 'an overblown sense of loyalty to his friends who don't have his best interests at heart" to that list. Of course, to take advice from people you know may have an alternative agenda ranks on the stupidity  list as well, so....

by xodus1914 2009-01-25 03:59PM | 0 recs
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THE FLATT MAN!

Glad to see you back..We've been a little short on fake and bitter lately.

Keep this sock-puppet ident on for a while, you provide a target rich environ...

by WashStateBlue 2009-01-23 05:23PM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

I read today that "I won" was said in a joking manner and won some laughs from the Republicans he was addressing.

by RichardFlatts 2009-01-27 10:22AM | 0 recs
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A bit more context

Obama's comment came after Jon Kyle (R-AZ) asked why he wasn't including more Republican ideas in the stimulus plan.

Political Wire

by jsfox 2009-01-23 11:16AM | 0 recs
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Re: A bit more context

The context makes me feel even better. The fact is why should they be included since the package is already to the right of where it should have been in the first place.

by bruh3 2009-01-23 11:19AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

Damn Finally! It's about time he stopped with this Republican tax cut BS.

by bsavage 2009-01-23 11:18AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

Oh, now you want us to be Politically Correct, like they were when in power. When we are on the winning side, we have to say, "This was a bipartisan victory, it just happened to go the way we wanted in the first place".

Oh, and BTW (a la Dick), "go eff yourself".

by klevenstein 2009-01-23 11:18AM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

Good for him, and good for us.

by bruh3 2009-01-23 11:18AM | 0 recs
97250_45
Re: "I Won"

Obama won, but we hit the fricking JACKPOT!

A real President!

I'm ecstatic. They (the Secret Service) better keep him safe, though. My heart wouldn't hold out if they fail.

by QTG 2009-01-23 01:26PM | 0 recs
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Re: "I Won"

Wall St. Journal, so take it with a grain of salt. I'm sure they'd like to make Obama come across as smug as possible.  But note that the article says...

Democratic and Republican aides confirmed the exchange. A White House spokesman said he wasn't immediately aware of the exchange. The aides who heard the remarks stressed that it wasn't as boldly partisan as it might sound.

So the sources stressed that it in the actual context of the conversation, the remark didn't come off as boldly partisan as it might come off, let's say, in the lede of a Wall St. Journal article.  I believe that.

by Rob in Vermont 2009-01-23 01:51PM | 0 recs

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